


Just For The Look On Her Face

by floofy_altaria



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Cute, Gen, Pokemon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-23 13:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4877848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floofy_altaria/pseuds/floofy_altaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Note that this takes place a little bit after the main story events of ORAS.) May wants to enter an important upcoming Pokemon contest, and she want someone to come with her to cheer her on. But whom she choses to come with her is not what you would consider a sensible choice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Contest Flyer

**Author's Note:**

> This is VERY self-indulgent! I just really like the idea of May and Archie being somewhat friends. (I'm also sorry that this is quite short, I wrote this fast.)

“Hey Archie! Over here!” The Aqua Leader turns around to be greeted by a very excited May jumping on top of him. Even though he towered over her, the little girl was actually quite strong. He caught her in his arms and held her up so that their faces met, a wide grin spreading across his face. “Slow down there, scamp! What brings you back to ol’ Archie?” May laughed and quickly started to fumble around in her bag, then produced a flyer from it, adding a little flourish. 

“There’s going to be a huge Pokemon contest soon, and Lisia’s going to be on the judging panel!” Archie laughed and ruffled the girl’s hair. “You and yer Pokemon Contests! Yer a big fan of Lisia, aren’t you?” May nodded, bouncing up and down a little. “Yeah! I was going to enter, because my Sceptile is qualified enough, but…” May frowned a little. “My dad said he won’t be able to make it, as usual… Brendan’s going on a trip with Professor Birch, so he can't make it either… and my mom’s gonna be out doing errands… Everybody’s so busy! It’s just not as satisfying if your friends and family aren’t there to cheer you on...” May suddenly gasped and looked up at Archie with shining, hopeful eyes. “Archie! Would you be able to come? You’re not too busy, right? Ohhh, you could even bring Shelly and Matt!"

Archie chuckled unsurely and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Heh, I dunno, scamp. Myself and the admins still haven't got what you'd call a fantastic reputation.” May furrowed her eyebrows determinedly. “C’mon, Archie, lighten up! It’ll be so much fun! Please??” Archie paused for a moment, then rolled his eyes and smiled. “Alright then! I’ll go to your contest. I’ll try get Shelly and Matt to come, too.” May squealed with excitement and hugged Archie tightly. “Oh, thank you thank you thank you! I’ll see you there!” May gave Archie one last, and very tight, hug before running off, giggling with excitement. Archie smiled as he watched her go, and wondered how on Earth he was going to explain this to the admins.


	2. The Admin's Reaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie tells the Aqua Admins about the contest, and as expected, it does not go down well.

That evening at the Team Aqua headquarters, furious yelling could be heard echoing all throughout the base. The source of it, of course, was Shelly.

“Archie, you IDIOT! All of Hoenn knows that it was us who almost DESTROYED THE WORLD, and you want to go to this girl’s dumb Pokemon contest?!” Shelly’s face was a deep red with rage, and she was snarling right in Archie’s face. “I can’t believe this! I can’t believe YOU! How could we possibly go and not have people know who we are?!” Archie stuttered, trying to find a way to reply to Shelly and not get slapped, when Matt butted in, much to Archie’s relief.

“Shelly, relax for a second! We can’t just promise to go and not turn up!” Shelly glared at Matt, but he kept talking. “We could go without our Team Aqua gear, obviously, that would be a good way to keep people off us for a little while, at least.” Shelly faced Matt and sighed angrily. “Yeah, for a little while. I bet you we’re going to be forced to the ground and taken away before that little thing is even on stage.” 

Matt raised his voice and was about to argue back when Archie stepped forward and spoke, frowning. “Listen, both of you. We’re all going to go and that’s final. There’s no way I’m going to let her down! And let’s be honest, everybody in the crowd is going to be focusing on Lisia instead of us. It’ll be fine!” Shelly groaned and began to storm out of the room, Archie laughing and shouting at her as she left, “You’re still coming! You’re not going to escape that easy!”


	3. The Lobby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aqua trio have a conversation in the lobby just before the Pokemon Contest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Matt is a stupid nerd whom I love very much.

It was the night of the Pokemon Contest, and hordes and hordes of excited fans (most of them wearing Lisia merchandise) were gathered in the lobby of the Contest Spectacular. Among them were Archie, Matt, and Shelly, all looking very different without their Team Aqua gear on. 

Shelly nudged Matt, while staring at the watch on her wrist. “Ugh. I bet it’s starting late because Lisia has to get her eyelashes sequined or something.” Matt laughed and shrugged. “That’s probably what is happening, actually! They were always slow like this whenever Lisia was going to be around.” Shelly raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?” Matt blushed a little, shuffling awkwardly and lowering his voice a little. “I’ve entered a couple of contests before, I know this stuff!” 

Shelly immediately burst into laughter at the thought of someone like Matt entering something as innocent as a Pokemon Contest. Matt was getting incredibly flustered. “It was just for a little while, before I joined Team Aqua! Quit laughing at me!” Shelly, obviously, wasn’t listening, and was trying to hold back her laughter as much as she could. She began to nudge Archie frantically. “Archie, did you know about this? About Matt entering Pokemon Contests?” She started to crack up laughing again, while being stared at angrily by a very embarassed Matt. 

Archie laughed and nodded, causing both Admins to gasp. “Of course I knew! He has a picture of him and his Carvahna on stage in his room at the base. It’s adorable, really!” Matt buried his face in his hands, blushing like a sunset. Before Shelly could ask any more questions about Matt’s rather adorable history with Pokemon Contests, a voice spoke over an intercom. “Ladies and Gentlemen, and all Pokemon Contest fans alike, please make your way into the fabulous Contest Hall now!” Everybody, including the Aqua trio, made their way into the hall, and a very humiliated Matt had to be lead in by Archie, who was patting his back sympathetically.


	4. The Big Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the night of the contest, and the Aqua members have come to see May perform.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I got a little carried away with this chapter, but it was fun to write! I love Lisia's character.

As the Aqua trio walked into the massive Contest Hall, there was excited murmuring as people took their seats, a lot of them wearing Pokemon Contest merch. Shelly rolled her eyes at the sight of them, whispering to the other two Aqua members.

“Ugh, just look at them. I bet a lot of them are just here to gawp at Lisia.” Archie laughed. “You sure do talk about Lisia a lot, dontcha?” Matt joined in the conversation, grinning. “Yeah, Shelly, what gives? Are you jealous?” Shelly snarled at the two of them, her cheeks faintly going red. “Me?! Jealous of HER?! No way! She’s just some tacky girl who everyone loves because of her fancy clothes and Pokemon!” With that, Shelly stormed into her seat, crossing her arms and pouting a little. Matt chuckled quietly and whispered to Archie, “I think she’s jealous.”

As everyone got settled into their seats, the lights dimmed, and after a short pause, a massive spotlight shone down on the stage, and Lisia bounced right into the middle of it, accompanied by Ali, her Altaria, who was looking incredibly well groomed, as usual. A loud groan and grumpy muttering could be heard from Shelly.

“Goooood evening, ev-ry-bo-dy!” Lisia spoke in her usual sing-song voice. This was followed by roaring, cheering, and some cries of “Good evening, Lisia!” and many cries of“I love you, Lisia!” The Contest star giggled and raised her hand to signal silence, which immediately shushed the entire hall. “Now, tonight, at this very special Contest Spectacular, we will be showing only the BEST Pokemon that qualified for this contest, and only the BEST trainers! And now, Pokemon Contest fans, welcome to the stage the trainers and their Pokemon!”

The deafening cheering instantly started back up again as the trainers walked onto to the stage, all of them (and a few of their Pokemon) dressed up in beautiful and strange costumes. Among them was May and her Sceptile, both waving to the audience and beaming. 

Archie and Matt stood up and started cheering, almost louder than the rest of the crowd. Even Shelly cracked a smile and waved at May. Archie waved at her and shouted. “You can beat ‘em, scamp! Show ‘em what yer made of!” May took her eyes off the rest of the crowd for a moment, just looking at Archie. She smiled genuinely at him, waving vigorously.

Lisia raised her hand again, and the hall was silenced. “Ok, Pokemon Contest fans! The judges will now be taking their seats at the panel, and each contestant will be called up individually. We wish everyone the very best of luck, and let the contest…” Lisia twirled around, and streamers and balloons rocketed out from the top of the stage, “BEGIN!”


	5. Into The Limelight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Contest has begun, and it's May's time to shine!

The audience clapped and cheered as the contestants returned backstage, and Lisia went to join the judging panel along with some other former Contest stars. Archie was one of the loudest ones that were cheering. The Aqua leader turned to face the admins, his eyes shining with excitement and pride. “Did you see her?! She looked great! She’s gonna win, I know it!”

Shelly rolled her eyes and smiled. “Pfft. She does have a lot of charm, that’s for sure. That little smile was pretty adorable.” Matt looked at Shelly, surprised. “Wow, she even won YOU over! That’s certainly a first!” Shelly stared coldly at Matt. “Don’t push it.” 

Lisia spoke into her microphone, her cutesy voice echoing around the hall. “Alright, ev-er-y-one! Now for the first act of the evening!” She held a list of names in her hands, and called out the first trainer. The trainer walked onto the stage confidently, a very large Ludicolo dancing beside him, almost taller than the trainer himself.

Shelly scoffed. “A Ludicolo? That can’t be a wise choice, right? They’re just big and goofy.” Before either Aqua member could reply, The trainer onstage cried “ICE BEAM!” and within just a few seconds, beautiful ice patterns began to appear all over the stage and around the hall, and the temperature in the building must have dropped drastically. 

The audience whooped and cheered, and the approval marking went up to 4 hearts. Shelly stared open-mouthed at her surroundings, and it was clear that she wasn't expecting something as “goofy” as a Ludicolo could pull that off. Matt burst into laughter, nudging Shelly “Your face! You should see the look on your face!”

Many acts came onto the stage, a lot of them Lisia fans that wanted to impress her, much to Shelly’s disdain. The trio were beginning to think that the other acts were never going to end, until Lisia called out the final name. “And now, last, but most certainly not least, May Sapphire!” All three of the Aqua members immediately stood up, cheering and waving like crazy as the young Pokemon trainer stepped out into the spotlight, her loyal Sceptile by her side. May took a deep breath, then smiled to the audience, getting ready to try and pull off what could be her best Pokemon Contest show yet.


	6. A Race To The Top

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May is doing great in her Contest, but is it enough to win?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this one is long. This might be one of the last chapters!

May clenched her fists anxiously, breathing heavily. Her Sceptile stood in front of her, awaiting her commands. She paused a little bit, then yelled “DRAGON CLAW!” and the rather motionless Pokemon in front of her became wondrously animated.

Sceptile leapt up into the air, its claws shining from the light of the spotlight, a look of intense focus on its face. It flipped gracefully forwards, landing with such immense power that it sent a shockwave through the hall, causing the floor to shake a little. The audience gasped in awe and cheered, sending its approval rating right up. Archie was clapping frantically, looking extremely proud of May, with a huge, goofy grin spread across his face. 

May’s confidence grew, and she raised her voice some more as she commanded Sceptile’s next move. “AERIAL ACE!” The Sceptile sprang into action once more, running up the wall of the stage and leaping off to the next wall, and the next wall, and so forth, until it did a circle around the hall at incredible speeds, finishing with an impressive flip back onto the stage. This once again caused the audience to go crazy, but May’s time on the stage was beginning to run out, and she was still not even in the top three yet. She was starting to panic a little when she noticed the little charm on her bracelet. Her Mega Stone.

The Aqua trio were all tense, keeping an eye on the approval ratings. Shelly put her head in her hands. “Poor kid. She’s not gonna make it, is she?” Matt elbowed her roughly and shushed her, staring at the stage. Archie shook his head. “Nah. She’s smart, she’s bound to come up with something…” Still, Archie looked nervous, biting his lip. Just then, a deafening noise came from the stage and a dazzling bright light filled the hall.

Once it subsided, an incredibly majestic looking Mega Sceptile appeared on stage, completely taking the audience, and all three Aqua members, by surprise. The Mega Evolution alone was enough to send the approval ratings skyrocketing. Archie laughed and messed up Shelly’s hair. “See, I told you! That kid’s always got something up her sleeve!” Before Shelly could strangle him, he turned towards the stage and cried out to May, “C’mon, kid! Blow the whole roof off this place!” May looked at Archie and nodded, furrowing her eyebrows and focusing on Sceptile. 

“FOCUS BLAST!” Upon hearing this command, the Mega Sceptile held out his hands, a ball of energy forming in front of them and growing more massive by the second. Soon, the Pokemon released the energy ball, and it zoomed out into the center off the hall before it separated, raining beautiful, star-like sparkles down on the audience. The audience gasped in wonder, holding out their hands to catch the little sparkles before they disappeared. The Aqua trio looked over at the approval ratings, and May was climbing up on it incredibly fast, from 3rd, to 2nd, all the way up the 1st place.  
The Aqua trio’s cheering was louder than any other person in the hall. Archie was ecstatic, waving at May and looking immensely proud of her. May waved back at him, feeling on top of the world. The buzzer indicating the end of May’s turn went off, and Lisia stood up. “Well, there you have it, everyone! That was our last act of the evening, May Sapphire, and oh my, wasn’t she in-cre-di-bile!!” The audience nodded in agreement, cheering like mad. “And now, Contest fans, the top three trainers of this evening!” 

Lisia called out the names of the other two trainers, and walked up onto the stage, holding a huge gold Contest trophy, followed by two other judges that were carrying smaller trophies. May looked in awe as Lisia approached her, smiling. Lisia took May’s hand and faced the audience with her. “And now, everyone, our Contest Spectacular winner, May Sapphire!” Lisia handed May the first-place trophy as the crowd went wild. As she did so, she whispered quietly to May, “Gratz, kiddo! You did great!”

May almost felt like fainting. She looked over at the Team Aqua admins, who were screaming their lungs out, including Shelly. She then looked at Archie, who was clapping and smiling. Once he realised she was looking at him, he gave her a tiny wave, causing May to laugh. She had never felt so amazing in her life, and she couldn’t wait to meet up with the Aqua trio after the show.


	7. Exchanging Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team Aqua trio and May say goodbye after an intense night at the Contest Spectacular.

It was late in the evening, and the crowd was beginning to leave, the noise of the Contest dying down. May was standing outside the door of the Contest Hall, being swarmed with yells of “Congratulations!” and “Can I get a picture with you? You were amazing!”. The whole experience had left her breathless.

When the excited fans left, May heard a loud cry of “Hey, there’s my little champ!” She recognised that voice, but before she could even turn around to the source of it, she was being squeezed tightly by a very excited and very proud Archie, followed by Matt and even Shelly. May laughed as she was almost knocked over by the amount of hugs. “You really came! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” The trainer looked up at Archie, her eye shining like stars. “You really, truly don’t know how much it meant to me to see you there…” 

Archie smiled and nuzzled her gently. “Aww, scamp, it was nothing, honestly! You were a true Contest Star if i’ve ever seen one!” May was almost crying tears of joy, holding all three of them close. “Thank you, all of you… I can’t you enough, I... “ May buried her face in her hands, laughing and crying at the same time. The group hug loosened, and Matt patted May’s back, wiping away some of her tears. “Archie’s right, kid! Keep the contest thing up!” Shelly smirked. “Pfft, yeah, and Matt might even join you on that stage one day. He knows a thing or two about Pokemon Contests.” 

May took her hands away from her face and turned to Matt, bouncing up and down. “Wow, really?! That’s so cool! We could enter one together sometime!” Matt blushed, scratching his neck awkwardly. “Heh, maybe one day, kiddo! I think Sharpedo’s still got in in him!” Shelly rolled her eyes, smiling at Matt.

The four of them talked long into the night, laughing and joking, but eventually, May had to leave. Archie ruffled her hair and wished her goodbye. “Alright, kid, you had a big night. You go get some sleep, you hear?” May nodded. and gave Archie one last quick hug, looking up at him with an amazing amount of gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you so much, Archie. Thank you for being there for me…” She wiped away the small tears that were forming in her eyes. “I hope we’ll get to talk again soon!” Archie nodded, trying to hold back his own tears in front of May. “Me too, May. Me too.”

The two went their separate ways, exchanging waves at each other until one couldn't see the other anymore over the horizon. Archie was quiet and smiled all the way back to the base. Going to the Contest may not have seemed like a wise choice for someone on the run, but he just had to do it. He had to do it just for the look on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, thus marks the end of my first (and hopefully not last) fanfiction! This was fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed it!


End file.
